Metro 4- Caataract Scout Camp

The Cataract Scout Camp, on first inspection looks a little on the easy side. However it is not until you get out there that you realise that even controls in the open areas are oft times hard to locate. There are many tracks that can lead to confusion ( I can attest to that!)

With that in mind it would be safe to say that this was Uringa's most successful day at the metros for a while. Our teams in Division 3,4 and 5 all had victories. Our Division 1 team was well and truly understaffed with only two runners present on the day.

Captain de Metro Ian would like to claim "the pun of the year" with his shoe in of two competitors in the Division 5 team. Both were from SHOO orienteers. ( gets dad joke of the year.)

Our Div 3 team had a very strong win and one look at the individual results you can see why. Georgia was 2nd fastest on the course, Linda 3rd, Nick 4th, Hilary 8th and Jim 11th. That left little room for Bennelong to score many points at all. the match went Ur/CC way 37 / 18.


Division 4 was closer with a 30 / 24 result with Maggie, Sophie and Finn right up there in the big points.
Division 5 was a nail biter and went right down to the seconds. Gayle, Dave and John (SHOO) scored the big points but with 28 V 27 result every point counted.





The next Metro is in July and we will need all hands on deck as a number of Uringans are heading O/S to take part in events such as Oringen ( Sweden 14000+ competitors,) World Masters also in Sweden.

Individual Results:

Plac	Name	Class	Time
2	Georgia Jones	Division 3	35:57
3	Linda Sesta	Division 3	37:47
4	Margaret Jones	Division 4	31:41
8	Ian Jones	Division 1	43:28
8	Sophie Jones	Division 4	33:05
9	Gayle Shepherd	Division 5	31:37
9	Lawrence Jones	Division 1	43:57
10	Finn Mackay	Division 4	33:08
11	Jim Mackay	Division 3	43:44
16	Dave Lotty	Division 5	34:19
16	Dick Ogilvie	Division 4	34:59
25	Ron Pallas	Division 4	48:03
25	Adrienne Kirby	Division 5	48:23
29	Serje Robidoux	Division 3	1:36:22

PS - it might look like Serje had a shocker but he was out introducing some friends to the sport. Look like they enjoyed their time with map and compass.

QBIII - Sunny downtown Lithgow.

Winter arrived and a few days later a contingent of 22 Uringans will be heading over the mountains for three days or orienteering based around Lithgow.
Amongst the tribe there are a few with definite chances to finish in the top 3. In the Jones crew Sophie and Georgia have both been running well and I would expect placings by these two up and coming juniors. Mind you  Ian,  Maggie and Lawrence are a chance with Ian showing some solid form in South Australia earlier this year.  Among the veterans both Dick and Maureen are in with a chance. Maureen is returning after illness and will be challenged whilst Dick has had some strong runs in the last little while especially in ACT a few weekends ago.. Mrs Consistency, Linda, always figures in the mix in multi-day events.
I hear that Gayle is aiming for wins in the chocolate leg this weekend. A KitKat a day will go down well with a warm cup of milo. (What is the chocolate leg? It is a competition within her class. At the end of the run they gather and a leg on their course is nominated. Whoever has the fastest time wins the KitKat )

Now for an each way bet, keep and eye on Serena in W14A. If she can keep it all together she has the speed to make life interesting in her class. Also keep a watch on young Finn. He has been very consistent over the past months and this could just be the place where he will shine.

Name	Class
Jim Mackay	M45AS (5)
Dave Lotty	M70A (12)
Ron Pallas	M55AS (11)
Lawrence Jones	M20A (7)
Dick Ogilvie	M70A (12)
Shane Doyle	M45A (9)
Zara Doyle	W Junior B (1)
Margaret Jones	W45A (9)
Jakob Doyle	M Junior B (1)
Linda Sesta	W45A (9)
Sophie Jones	W14A (5)
Finn Mackay	M14A (6)
Serena Doyle	W14A (5)
Michael Warlters	M50A (14)
Ian Jones	M45A (9)
Maggie Mackay	M/W10N (9)
Maree Doyle	W20A (6)
Maureen Ogilvie	W80A (2)
Jane McKenna	W45A (9)
Gayle Shepherd	W45AS (10)
Lisa Lampe	W55A (5)
Georgia Jones	W20A (6)

So it is 3 days of fun over the mountains competing over 3 different disciplines- sprint, long and Middle distance. It should be fun and the weather is looking promising.

I guarantee the two Ls will have the electric blanket set high for those cold nights.
Good luck to all ofour club competitors.

ACT Championships- The Sandhills

The Sandhills an area about 13kms east of Bungendore was named after the sand extraction industry that once thrived in the area. What was left behind after mining moved on makes for complex orienteering.
The Sandhills lived up to expectations- tough physical and challenging.

Saturday ACT Middle Distance Championships- NOL race
After resisting the lure of the many shops in the Bungendore CBD, orienteers found themselves in a beautifully sunny assembly area. The air was crisp to say the least but the leisurely late morning starts meant that the chill was well and truly off the area and sun cream was being applied ( Mind you it only made it to 14 degrees but the sun trap assembly area had you looking for shorts and t-shirts.)

Maureen - deep in concentration. You can see the finish on her left

Dick in the race to control 1

Dave - "jobbling" up the start chute

Today the start was right next to the finish and everyone had a sprint of around 100m to their first control which was also a pivot control which most visited 3 times during their course. Looking at the map you can see that the loops at the end of courses made for testing navigation but it was the vague

The Pivot

areas on the initial stages of the courses that brought many undone.
Three first places was a great effort and Dick's run was a real blinder. Our Swiss Miss Linda beat home her Swiss counterpart Anita (former Uringa Member) comfortably

Day 1 map- note the pivot control 1/8/14

Plac	Name	Class	Time
1	Maureen Ogilvie	W80A	1:30:35
1	Dick Ogilvie	M70A	39:50
1	Linda Sesta	W45A	31:57
7	Dave Lotty	M70A	1:19:17
	Gayle Shepherd	W60A	did not finish

Sunday ACT Long Distance Champs- NOL Race
Now Sunday was chilly- -6 degrees over night and the sight that greeted the organisers was white, white, white. However the sun trap assembly area soon warmed up. The finish tents all had to be moved into the sun as they defrosted. The best thing about getting a good frost is that you know you will have a corker of a day and so it was.

Yes it was chilly at the assembly area. Ok not quite this cold.( well Nick and Marg in Turkey!)

This was the scene at 9am

Men Elite - check out the first leg!

Today the start was kilometre away but it was just as entertaining as there was a video feed from the start. The elites had courses ranging from 15km to 10km- man hard work. The video feed saw many of these fast of feet stand at the start for some time as they pondered their first leg. Each course had a very long leg to kick start their course.
A feature of the area was the fallen timber on the ground. Gayle remarked that it seemed impossible that all the timber had fallen at 90 degrees to the direction of travel ensuring you would trip at every step.

The vague hillsides made for tricky navigation. On my course I wandered off line but was saved by control 5 as I headed to my first control. However the brief taste of the mounds around control 9 was great. I detoured to check out the elite pivot control.
Result wise Maureen completed another double header with a resounding win in W80A. I snuck in to a 1st place- the first first for a long time! Gayle puts her disasters down to over dosing on grandchildren over the weekend. Linda had a "Barry Crocker" which let Anita sneak in for a first place. Dick climbed the podium for a third in the highly competitive M70

Plac	Name	Class	Time
1	Maureen Ogilvie	W80A	2:06:21
1	Ron Pallas	M55AS	59:06
2	Linda Sesta	W45A	1:02:56
3	Dick Ogilvie	M70A	1:09:07
4	Dave Lotty	M70A	1:20:25
	Gayle Shepherd	W55AS	mispunched

Well it was a pity to leave the sundrenched assembly area but the Bungendore CBD coffee shops were calling many before heading down the Hume to home.
Next trip into the cold will be the QB111 in Lithgow and entries close tonight Monday 25th.